One dies in Hwy 152 crash involving a big rig

One person died Monday afternoon on Hwy 152 near Gilroy after a collision between a big rig and at least seven other vehicles, the California Highway Patrol reported. It was the second fatal accident in the Bay Area in less than two weeks involving a large truck on a busy highway during commute hours.

"There was one fatality," said Judy Hoffmann, a dispatch supervisor with the CHP office in Monterey. "But it's too early to say what happened exactly."

Hoffmann said the first witness called at 5:26 p.m. and reported that the driver's cabin of the truck had burst into flames and that the truck had come to a stop in a farm field near the intersection of the highway and Leavesley Rd. She could not confirm if the victim was the truck driver or say how many others might have been seriously injured.

Hoffmann said the CHP landed a medical evacuation helicopter on Hwy 152, a busy corridor for Silicon Valley workers who live in Los Banos and nearby towns in the Central Valley.

The accident was the second involving a big rig in the Bay Area this month. A young Santa Cruz man, Daniel McGuire, was killed in a multivehicle collision on Highway 17 on July 10 when﻿ the driver of a big rig hauling dirt lost control and jackknifed. The accident renewed calls for banning heavy trucks on the highway during the morning and evening rush hours.